Let Go
by Newbie08
Summary: Who would've thought that a disgruntled ex-boyfriend would bring Mike and Connie together? Takes place during "For The Defense" M/C shipper


**Hello everyone! So for those of you who don't' know, this is my first time EVER writing a 'Law & Order' fic. I mainly deal with JAG but there's just something about Mike and Connie that tugs on your heart strings and you can't help but love them. So this is my attempt at getting them together, if only in make believe.**

**This takes place during the episode 'For The Defense,' shortly after the scene where Marcus in some way, shape or form tells Connie about Mike's feelings for her while they are out on the street. If you haven't seen the episode then you might get lost seeing as how Connie wouldn't have know of such feelings otherwise. But hopefully it's written in a manner that is easy to follow.**

**This is un-edited and un-betad so all mistakes are courtesy of me.**

**Disclaimer: Of course we all know neither the show nor the characters belong to me because if they did this might have actually happened.**

**Hope you like!**

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Mike paced back and forth in his office, shirt sleeves rolled up and his tie slightly loose from where it hung around his neck, tossing his baseball from hand to hand. He had been on edge since the case had started. It wasn't necessarily the case that bothered him though; it had more to do with Marcus Woll than it did anything else. Mike knew there was something about the guy that made his skin crawl and made his insides scream every time he came in contact with Marcus.

This time however it was slightly different. For it wasn't just Mike's feeling's that were involved, now it was Connie's. Mike learned a long time ago that he was attracted to her and he gave up on the notion of those feelings ever going away. So day in and day out he would sit on the sidelines and work side by side with her, even though there were days that it killed him to do so, he did it for the job. Not his, but hers.

Of course Mike cared about his career; he'd be a fool not to. He cared about what others thought of him and he cared about the working relationships he had formed with his co-workers.

But Connie, well she was different. She wasn't just his 'assistant' anymore, she became more than that quite some time ago. In all actuality he couldn't remember when he started feeling that way about her, all he knew was that it had been a while.

Mike didn't _want_ to put her in a position where she could damage her reputation by having an office romance. He didn't _want_ to be that guy that had a reputation for sleeping with anything in a skirt. But the more he fought his feelings for Connie the more he _wanted_ her. The harder he tried to hide them the more they began to slip through the cracks of his personal restraints.

Seeing Marcus Woll made Mike realize the extent of his feelings for this one woman. No longer could he stand by and hope that she would eventually open her eyes to what's in front of her. He couldn't stand by and wait for her to realize that he'd been waiting all this time for her to just say something…anything to let him know that he wasn't wasting his time pining after a woman who wasn't even interested. Of course Mike knew she was way out of his league; it was a fact that he would remind himself with when he sat at home thinking of ways to ask her out. But he just couldn't take it anymore!

In an effort to rid himself of such stress and aggravation, he whipped his baseball at the small sofa in his office with such force it bounced off the cushion and landed on the wooden floor with a thud. Mike threw his arms up in the air before resting his hands on his head in annoyance with himself before walking towards the back of his office to look out the window.

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

Mike turned quickly at the irritated tone of Connie's voice. He wasn't expecting to see her until tomorrow so to say he was taken a little off guard would've been an understatement. He took a few moments to study her; she was standing in his office next to where the baseball landed on the floor with her arms crossed over her midsection. Her coat still buttoned and her hat still resting on her head, her nose slightly red from the cold. The look on her face clearly read infuriation with just a hint of…hope? But god help him, he still thought she was beautiful.

Mike lowered his hands from atop his head and took a few short steps in her direction before asking with just the slightest bit of relief in his voice, "Who told you?"

Connie's eyes softened then, at the look that now adorned his face. It was no longer covered in aggravation or frustration; instead it was covered in respite.

"Woll," came her whispered reply before repeating softly, "Why didn't you tell me?" She started to study his face while she waited for his response. He seemed tired lately, that much was obvious based on all the coffee he'd been drinking. Sure she'd noticed the few wrinkles that started to appear at the corners of his tired eyes. And of course she noticed that he was getting just a touch of gray hair by his ears. But there was something more than that, something that made him seem older, wiser even, almost as if he aged years within just a short period of time.

It was then she realized what it was, it was his conduct, his behavior with her lately that had changed, and not necessarily in a bad way. He presented himself in a different manner now, like exuded this maturity and confidence that he didn't have before. Sure she noticed the little glances he'd send her way when he thought she wasn't looking. And of course she was well aware of all the times he rested his hand on the small of her back whenever they went out for drinks. Then again today, when he had reached for her hand to stop her from walking down the hallway, she couldn't stop the involuntary shiver that ran down her spine at just the slightest touch of his skin to hers.

Mike inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent that was so uniquely hers it could never be duplicated, and then exhaled slowly in an attempt to rid himself of all the aggravation he'd been dealing with since the beginning of the trial before saying, "I didn't want to put you in a position that would make you feel uncomfortable." Connie looked at him skeptically, almost as if to say, 'Yeah…and…what else?' Mike took the silence as his que to continue. He reached out slowly to take one of her hands in his and waited to see if she would object.

Once Mike seen that the only reaction she had was a slight shiver, he smiled slowly then continued. " I care about you too much to be the guy that ruins your career. I don't want to be a regret of yours, like Marcus."

Connie met his for the first time since he made physical contact with her, and what she saw in his eyes took her breath away. She wasn't naïve, she knew what true emotions felt like but now for the first time in her life she actually seen them. Little did she realize Mike was seeing them in her eyes too.

"I've tried Connie, believe me I've tried, but for the life of me I can't make these feelings go away. No matter what I do you're always in my head and to tell you the truth," Mike leaned closer to her before whispering, "I kind of like it." Connie smiled at him brightly with unshed tears in her eyes.

It wasn't what Mike said that made her teary-eyed, it had more to do with the emotions he pulled forth from her. Emotions she thought she successfully buried quite some time ago. She tried to hide them, tried to push them so far down within her they would disintegrate and dissolve into nothing.

But upon hearing Mike's confession, those emotions came tumbling out of her being, displaying themselves in her eyes for him to see.

Connie sniffled softly in an attempt to keep her tears at bay before leaning closer towards Mike, so close that their foreheads almost touched, and then said, "I like it, too."

Upon seeing Mike's brightly lit smile, Connie leaned even closer towards him, resting her forehead on his for the briefest of moments while staring deeply into his eyes, and then closed the distance between them. She always wondered what it would feel like to kiss him and boy did her imagination let her down. His lips were soft and pliant beneath her own and she could still taste the coffee that she had bought him some time ago mixed with the gum he had in his mouth.

As for Mike, this was his heaven. He'd waited and waited for this day to come and now that it had actually arrived, it failed miserably in comparison to all the times he envisioned this happening. Her lips were supple yet firm the longer they kept the contact. Mike's hand found its way to the back of her neck, where his fingers played in the hair at her nape while his thumb brushed softly across her cheek.

It was amazing to Mike how his day went from miserable to unbelievably spectacular within a twenty-four hour period but he found that he rather enjoyed it. He found that once he let go of all the frustrations and restraints that had been burdening him lately he was rewarded with the most cherished gift of them all…the love of a wonderful woman.


End file.
